Giuliani leads the Republican presidential pack in nearly every national poll, and he’s expanding his lead.

We have commented on this frequently, and the trend is rising. I suspect that Rudy will be close to 60% by the summer.

Giuliani received a raucous reception Friday when he spoke at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

This is because, when people see him, they know they see the REAL DEAL. Is he a perfect man, no, he isn’t. However, he is genuine. You don’t get to be called America’s Mayor without the people knowing he’s the man they’d want in charge of their town.

The former two-term mayor held the packed hotel ballroom’s attention as he gently attacked Democrats on the Iraq war and spoke generally on economic and education themes. He wrapped himself in the tax-cutting, evil-fighting “morning in America” mantle of former President Ronald Reagan.

Why does this NOT surprise me. Rudy is the optimist, and the only one that has that part of the Reagan legacy. With so much bitterness in the GOP and in the nation as a whole, America needs a man who has the courage to see the sunlight, after the agony that we’ve gone through the past few years. When we went through that agony, I believe that Rudy along with the President had the nation resting on their shoulders. They found out that America’s mayor was a good place to put their confidence in.

“If we do it right with the spirit of America, the enemies that we think we have now in this war on terror are going to be friends of America” (like post-war Germany and Japan became).

“We’ll get there with a Ronald Reagan kind of spirit – peace through strength,” he said to applause.

Isn’t this what we as a party and as a nation NEED to hear? Rudy is running the most positive campaign I have ever witnessed, and I’ve been active in campaigns since 1980. His positive spirit are infectious. He made NYC believe in itself, and was the leader of that cities resurection after the horrible events of 9/11.

In a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week, Giuliani led Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., 44 percent to 21 percent. That showed his lead widening; the same poll in January had Giuliani ahead of McCain 34 percent to 27 percent.

By June Rudy will have close to 60%.

Giuliani also appears to the favorite among independents. In a USA Today/Gallup poll last month, independents gave him a 68 percent favorable rating, to 55 percent for McCain. (Clinton and Obama each had a 55 percent favorable rating.)

Who does this remind you of? Ronald Reagan anyone?

Giuliani’s crossover appeal is striking. Democrats gave him a 55 percent favorable rating in the USA Today/Gallup survey, while Obama had only a 39 percent favorable rating among Republicans, and Clinton had 28 percent.

Rudy is the ONLY candidate that can bring people back into the BIG TENT of what moderated, positive Conservativism can do for a nation.

“You know what Rudy’s base is? 9/11,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “That’s a pretty good brand. He’s got the title `America’s Mayor’ and everybody knows that.”

While Iraq is going to be a driving issue for this nation in ’08, National Security will also be much entangled within that debate. The question will be do you trust Rudy or Hillary? Rudy or Barak? The answer is already a no brainer.

“One of the moral issues is the defense of Western civilization,” said Bauer, a former Republican presidential candidate.

This is THE KEY moral issue. The defense of our culture and way of life are the stakes in this war. Rudy Giulliani combines the fiscal sense that this nation needs, the sensitivity to diversity that we share as a nation, and a commitment to protecting our nation. I urge all to seriously consider bringing Reagan’s Morning back to America, by supporting America’s mayor.